The trophy collection is complete — Louisville City FC is the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup champion.
LouCity defeated the defending USL Cup champion Hartford Athletic 1-0 in the tournament final Sunday at Trinity Health Stadium in Connecticut. Aiden McFadden’s 12th minute goal was the winner.
Louisville City FC becomes the first club in the United Soccer League to win all three of its major trophies: the USL Championship title (2017, 2018), the Players’ Shield (2024, 2025) and the USL Cup (2026).
The USL Cup is also LouCity’s third trophy in three seasons. The club is the first in USL history to win at least one trophy in three consecutive seasons since Orlando City SC did so from 2011-14.
The win ends a nearly eight-year drought for the club in tournament finals. Sunday was LouCity’s fifth cup final, joining the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 USL Championship Playoff Finals. It was LouCity’s first win in a cup final since Luke Spencer’s goal clinched the league title in 2018.
LouCity managed to win the tournament despite playing each of its three knockout-stage games away from home.
“I’m really proud of the players for digging in again,” LouCity interim head coach Simon Bird said. “So this tournament, it’s difficult to win. It’s difficult to get out of the group stages and then it’s been a grind, three games away where we’ve had to fight, we’ve had to dig deep and have each other’s back, and I think the guys showed again today that we have that mentality and we have a winning mentality.”
It took an early set-piece goal and resilient defending in the second half.
Just 12 minutes in, LouCity found the opener. Taylor Davila’s inswinging service from a corner kick found Aiden McFadden, whose glancing header met the inside of the back post.
“We were able to earn a set piece, and I think we’re very dangerous off set pieces. We have a lot of weapons, and usually I’m not seen as one, which I like,” McFadden said. “I was able to get free, Davi put in a good ball, and I used my face. So it’s done my job, really.”
The goal ended a scoring drought for McFadden. The 28-year-old scored in each of the first two games of the season, on March 6 and 14, but hadn’t found the back of the net since.
In addition to his goal, McFadden was immense defensively. He led LouCity with two tackles and recorded seven clearances, tied for second most on the team. McFadden was named Prinx Tires USL Cup MVP.
For Davila, the assist was his 11th of the season across all competitions, just one shy of his career high, set last year.
It was Louisville’s first goal in the knockout stage of the USL Cup — LouCity advanced in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on penalty kicks, after each game ended 0-0.
“We worked really hard this week on attacking set pieces and putting together ideas that can disrupt their man-marking system,” Bird said. “I thought … (it was) a great delivery from Davi and Aiden timed his run.”
The goal stood as the difference at halftime. LouCity was efficient in the opening period, putting two of its three shots on target. Hartford managed seven attempts, but none of them were on goal.
Hartford seized control of play in the second half, but LouCity’s defense held the hosts at bay, despite defending for long stretches.
LouCity’s attack struggled to relieve its defense in the second half, taking just 38.2% of the possession in the period. Meanwhile, Hartford piled on the shots, 10 in all after halftime, but never truly tested LouCity goalkeeper Ryan Schewe, who finished with just one save, denying Hartford’s lone shot on target in the game.
The purple defense, though, held strong to see LouCity through to silverware. It was led by Kevon Lambert, who filled in at center back Sunday. The Jamaican international finished with 17 clearances, most in the game for either side.
“Kev was a monster back there. I mean, (it was) incredible. And he had to be for 90 minutes to do that over and over again, delivery after delivery into the box,” Bird said.
LouCity’s clean sheet was its first since the USL Cup semifinal on Sept. 8, a 0-0 draw at San Antonio FC.
“It was definitely busy for me,” Lambert said. “I can bet most of those were headed clearances because they were attacking a lot.” He later added, “I think it was just good from the whole back line to just read the jump, read the ball and jump together and get the clearances together.”
LouCity finished with 57 clearances, compared to just 13 for Hartford, keying the victory.
Now with the boost of a championship, LouCity will turn its attention to the final four games of the league season.
Next up, a trip to South Carolina to face the Charleston Battery in a pivotal game in the race for the top four in the Eastern Conference. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday at Patriots Point Soccer Complex.
But for now, there is a little time for some deserved celebrations — which included a champagne celebration in the locker room.
“I’ll go in the locker room, I’ll celebrate with the lads because I love this team so much,” Bird said. “They work so hard.”
Game Summary: Hartford Athletic vs. Louisville City FC (Prinx Tires USL Cup Final)
Date: October 4, 2026
Venue: Trinity Health Stadium — Hartford, Conn.
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy
Scoring
Hartford Athletic (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (1, 0, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
12′ Aiden McFadden (Taylor Davila)
Lineups
Hartford Athletic: 77 – Antony Siaha, 25 – Britton Fischer (58′ 3 – Matt Real), 4 – Jordan Scarlett (c), 15 – Adrián Diz Pe, 6 – Beverly Makangila (58′ 81 – Adewale Obalola), 19 – Emmanuel Samadia (87′ 22 – TJ Presthus), 2 – Sebastian Anderson, 16 – Barry Coffey (58′ 7 – Michael Adedokun), 8 – Junior Moreira, 11 – Michee Ngalina, 17 – Sadat Anaku (71′ 9 – Augustine Williams)
Unused substitutes: 1 – Enzo Carvalho; 5 – Baboucarr Njie
Head coach: Brendan Burke
Louisville City FC: 29 – Ryan Schewe, 13 – Amadou Dia, 32 – Kyle Adams (c), 31 – Kevon Lambert, 2 – Aiden McFadden, 15 – Manny Perez (71′ 4 – Sean Totsch), 8 – Taylor Davila, 19 – Babacar Niang (71′ 6 – Zach Duncan), 7 – Ray Serrano (80′ 27 – Evan Davila), 21 – Quenzi Huerman (71′ 25 – Jansen Wilson), 9 – Chris Donovan (87′ 14 – Tola Showunmi)
Unused substitutes: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 3 – Jake Morris, 99 – Cooper Conley
Interim head coach: Simon Bird
Stats Summary: Hartford Athletic / Louisville City FC
Shots: 17 / 5
Shots on Goal: 1 / 3
Expected goals: 1.67 / 0.31
Possession: 56.6% / 43.4%
Fouls: 7 / 9
Offside: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 3
Discipline Summary:
Louisville City FC:
14′ Manny Perez (yellow card)
72′ Kyle Adams (yellow card)
80′ Zach Duncan (yellow card)
86′ Amadou Dia (yellow card)
Referee: Elton Garcia
